Mad Dragon is an interesting side-scrolling runner that features an almost lovable fantasy character.

A hitherto sleeping dragon is our angry protagonist. In this side-scroller, action proceeds from left to right, and the enraged dragon possesses an exhaustible set of attributes that assist it in its desire to wreak as much havoc as possible. Wreaking havoc, in this game, mostly refers to destroying as many buildings as possible, while avoiding the bombs that are spread out around the place to stop the dragon.

To help in the quest to destroy structures, I had a pair of wings. Tapping on the screen is the solitary control, and this action invokes the ability to fly. Holding after tapping increases altitude, and releasing losses height. Not doing anything allows the dragon to run on the ground “normally.” At the top left, there is an energy bar that measures how much flight power is available. It is depleted by flying, and replenished when the dragon is running.

There are collectible gold coins that are interspersed in the passing area; by default, contact with them collects them. There are also cool, temporary power-ups, like fire breathing ability (name says it all), rocket speed (shoots the dragon forward at high speed with a degree of invincibility) and coin magnetism.

Running into bombs directly twice ends the run, so these are to be avoided.

One thing I liked about the game was the simple upgrade system: run, stay alive, destroy buildings, and accumulate coins. There are no special tokens; no convoluted conversions. Just get coins, and use the coins for upgrades. There are a lot of power-ups that can be purchased in leveled style, with successive levels costing more till that feature is topped out. Simple, direct and easy to understand.

I did find the jump/fly mechanism a bit touchy, and there was a time or two I felt a power-up was more trouble than it’s worth, but this is a game that, in my mind, has way more positives than negatives. I truly love the lesson that this game brings.